Forza co-creator Dan Greenawalt leaving Microsoft

Dan Greenawalt, the studio head of Turn 10 Studios and a key architect of the Forza franchise, is retiring from Microsoft after nearly 27 years with the company. According to an internal memo from Playground Games leadership, Greenawalt has decided to step down, though he will remain with the company in an advisory capacity during the transition period.

Greenawalt's tenure at Microsoft spans nearly three decades of racing game development. He was instrumental in bringing Project Gotham Racing to the original Xbox in 2001 and subsequently founded Turn 10 Studios, where he oversaw the creation and evolution of the Forza Motorsport series. His influence on the company's gaming division has been substantial, marked by numerous high-profile appearances at industry events and product launches.

The departure comes as Microsoft undergoes a significant restructuring of its racing game division. In September, the company announced plans to merge Turn 10 and Playground Games—the two studios responsible for the Forza franchise—into a single entity. This consolidation is part of a broader reorganization that also includes merging Obsidian Entertainment into Bethesda and transferring the Halo franchise to Activision. The restructuring will also result in 268 employee layoffs across Microsoft's gaming operations.

Turn 10's role within the Forza ecosystem has already shifted considerably. Following the 2023 relaunch of Forza Motorsport, the studio transitioned into a support role for Playground Games' Forza Horizon series. This shift reflected earlier staffing reductions at Microsoft that had impacted the Motorsport line, with former developers noting that the series had effectively been scaled back during prior rounds of cuts.

Greenawalt's departure marks the end of an era for one of Microsoft's most recognizable gaming leaders. His contributions to the racing genre and the Xbox platform have been acknowledged by colleagues, with leadership expressing gratitude for his decades of work and wishing him well in his next chapter.